Mini Metal Mayhem

 Coldwater

 

Planetary diameter: 6606 miles (smaller than Earth)

Gravity: 0.83G

Atmosphere: Normal (tainted)

Hydrosphere: 95%

Population: 6,767,647 at last census.

Government: Feudal Technocracy 

Tech Level: Analogous to 1980s Earth

 Coldwater is the 4th of 21 planets orbiting the blue supergiant sun Acom.  There are several gas giants.

With a hydrosphere of 95%, it's no surprise that Coldwater's main industry is fishing.  The main landmass is concentrated in a long, fragmented continent, with a few outlying islands.  Scoured by huge tides, storms, and limited by the tainted atmosphere, there is minimal vegetation (barren).  The starport is a very basic, C class facility, with a scout base, minimal repair facilities, but no naval presence.  Terraforming is ongoing, and it will be decades before the atmosphere will be breathable without filter masks.

Despite the tainted atmosphere, the planet supports a population of over 6.5 million, spread across both underwater habitats and on what little land there is.  Surface based habitats (whether on land or sea) tend to be semi-sealed, air filter pumps operating an overpressure system to keep the tainted atmosphere out.  Underwater habitats need to be completely sealed, for obvious reasons.

Smaller than Terra, Coldwater has lighter gravity (0.86G).  In theory, this results in tides 10-20% higher than Terra - but there are six moons, and this complicates the situation considerably.  The "ice moon" has a retrograde orbit and appears to be a captured comet. “Copper 5” is a copper rich captured asteroid in an eccentric orbit on an inclined orbital plane.  The 6th moon, Furnace, is stretched and kneaded by tidal forces and has several small but active volcanoes.   As Copper 5 reaches perigee, the volcanoes on Furnace turn green as the copper rich dust trail it leaves filters onto the surface.  This is an unusual tourist attracting event.  When the 6 moons align during a syzygy, there are enormous tidal surges.  During a perigean king tide, the resulting rise in sea level can be near catastrophic, over 70 metres.  The corresponding drop in sea level on the other side of the planet can be equally dangerous to aquatic life, where the water pressure drops by the equivalent of 6 atmospheres.  Storms on Coldwater tend to be larger and more powerful than many other worlds.  With uninterrupted ocean for thousands of miles, winds can build to enormous speeds and last for days or even weeks.

The governance of Coldwater is a feudal technocracy.  Power lies with those who control the technology - air filtration, water purification, energy generation, underwater habitats, food production systems.  Everything that allows people to survive on the plant.  Benefits from these technologies are provided by the rulers in return for goods or services from their vassals.

The rule of law is well-enforced, with strict controls on weapons - open possession of firearms of any kind is prohibited and even long blades are controlled.  This is understandable, given the necessity of atmospherically sealed habitats, where a single stray shot could spell disaster.  Surprisingly, no Freelancer's licence is required.  It's an extremely safe place to live or visit - the barren surface means that there are no large herbivores or carnivores to deal with, and weapons are generally unnecessary.  The oceans are a different matter altogether, but it's still rare to find anyone armed with more than diving knives and harpoon guns.

There is a sizeable population of Nagricans on Coldwater, and they are well-integrated with the human inhabitants.  Bands of Nagrican outlaws occasionally cause trouble, but the same can be said about groups of human bandits.  The majority of the inhabitants know their place in society and realise that given the restricted land area and poor atmosphere, everyone has to work for the common good.

4 main factions currently vie for power on Coldwater:

1) Despite having the most powerful, militant followers, the charismatic leader Khorekk Tao is the least influential faction. (influence 2, power 4).  The rule of the feudal lords is actually fairly benevolent, and despite the harsh conditions on Coldwater, the majority of people are reasonably content with their place in the world.  Khorekk Tao's militant Sectators are plentiful and vocal, but have little support among the general population.  What support there is comes from the fringes of society, where Tao's promises of a better life represents the only hope that some people see.

2) The feudal technocracy's rulers are the Technates, a political movement that provides much of the planetary policies, which alongside their considerable power puts them at the top of the ladder. (Influence 4, Power 3)  The Lord High Technate is the de facto ruler of Coldwater.  The Technates are fair in their dealings with the rest of the population.  They understand that a healthy and happy workforce is more effective than a fearful and oppressed workforce, and requires less policing.  Nevertheless, a paramilitary police force is maintained to deal with any trouble caused by Khorekk Tao's followers.  The Technates write the laws, control the floating and submarine cities and the main planetary starports.

3) Wielding similar influence to the Technates is the religious movement, the Church of the Aqualons, though they are not quite as powerful.  Given the huge influence that the sea has upon the inhabitants of Coldwater, their worship is predictably based around fish and the spirit of the sea.  The sea is a fickle thing, and superstition flourishes in such an environment.  The Church of the Aqualons draws its knowledge from interpretation of the tides, storms and weather patterns, the movement and migration of fish shoals.  They bless the fishing fleets.  (Influence 4, Power 2) 

4) The merchant cartel Thalassa Diversified is the weakest faction on Coldwater.  They know the right people to talk to, and have more influence than Khorekk Tao, but are definitely lower in the pecking order than the Technates or the Church of the Aqualons.  Although they are the least powerful group on Coldwater, their control over certain commodities and food supplies means they cannot be dismissed outright.  They control fishing quotas, food distribution and pricing, and certain exports.  (Influence 3, Power 2) 

 

 

 I persuaded Number 1 son to give Five Parsecs from Home a try.  He's seen me and Number 2 son playing and I wanted him to have a go.  He's extremely story literate, and his teacher once mentioned that when discussing the class book they'd been reading, he was the only one who correctly predicted what would happen.  I'm interested to see how he links everything together and creates a story.  Once the crew had been rolled up, we had a look through my figures to see who fitted the descriptions.  A few extras had to be hastily assembled and/or painted ready for the first battle!

 Our adventure starts on the planet Coldwater, but more on that another day.  For now, let's meet the crew of the Millennium Chicken:

 

The Millennium Chicken's crew

Nagrican male James Bond

Nagrican male James Bond

Captain of the Millennium Chicken and a former bureaucrat who is also something of a scoundrel.  His thirst for power has led to him making enemies - the most troublesome and persistent of whom are a salvage crew (Rival).  It's not surprising really, given that he used his contacts to arrange the repossession of their starship, after which he promptly bought it himself at a knock-down price.  He had some money put aside, but after purchasing the ship and an assault bot, he can only contribute a single extra credit for the crew.  He has adopted the somewhat unlikely-sounding name James Bond, perhaps in an attempt to conceal his true identity?

XP 2; Reactions 1; Speed 5"; Combat +0; Toughness 4; Savvy +0;

 

Combat Droid Destructionator

Assault Bot Destructionator

 A hexapod combat robot, though with its original built-in weapons removed.  Suffers no penalties for carrying clumsy or heavy weapons.  Destructionator was purchased as military surplus by James Bond to provide some extra muscle when needed.  Although outdated now, and replaced by newer models, Destructionator is still a force to be reckoned with - or will be, once it has a new weapon installed. (Painted in a rushed 10-minute rusty colour scheme for the first game!)

Reactions 2; Speed 4"; Combat +1; Toughness 4; Savvy +0; Armour 5+ save

 

 Human male Blaze Westerley

Human male Blaze Westerley.

 A lower class megacitizen.  He seeks The Truth, and through his activities as a hacker, has obtained a datafile containing important information (rumour).  This has come at a cost - his hacking activities mean that a squad of Commonwealth troops is after him (Rival). Fortunately he has, through somewhat dubious means, obtained a colony rifle to protect himself.  ("Here, this one looks like a colony rifle, this can be him!")

XP 0; Reactions 1; Speed 4"; Combat +0; Toughness 3; Savvy +1;

  

Bot Lifter

Bot Lifter

  A former cargo handling robot, originally used to organise freight in the Millennium Chicken but now co-opted into the crew to fight with them when required.

Reactions 2; Speed 4"; Combat +1; Toughness 4; Savvy +2;

  

Nagrican male Frost

Nagrican male Frost

Military brat whose rejection of authority and refusal to conform has earned him the enmity of some local vigilantes (Rival).  In a somewhat contradictory way, Frost's personal faith is very strong, and someone from his local worship group has provided him with a notebook (rumour).

XP 2; Reactions 1; Speed 4"; Combat +1; Toughness 4; Savvy +0;

  

Human female Flame (rolls die... "Another male.  No, I think we need to have a least ONE female!" he muttered.)

Human female Flame.

 Flame desires revenge on Nagrican outlaws (Rival) who killed the other members of her ship-borne isolationist enclave.  She was knocked unconscious during the attack and left for dead.  She has a notebook and a tip given to her by a couple of members of the enclave before they died (2 rumours).  Trying to scavenge what she can on her quest for revenge, she has obtained an additional data file (rumour).  Because the Nagrican outlaws are still after her, she has armed herself with a beam pistol in the assumption that things could end in a shoot-out.

XP 2; Reactions 1; Speed 4"; Combat +0; Toughness 3; Savvy +0;

 

The crew have come together to support Flame's mission of revenge against the Nagrican Outlaws.  They are defenders of the downtrodden. 

 

 The crew have 7 credits between them.  The armoury includes 2 colony rifles, 1 military rifle, 1 autorifle, 1 shotgun, 1 blast pistol, 1 beam pistol, 1 scrap pistol, 1 concealed blade.  They also have a nerve adjuster available.

 

Their ship is the former Diplomatic Vessel Millennium Chicken

16 Credits Debt

25 Hull points

James Bond obtained the ship through a very expensive corporate loan (+2 interest/turn up to 30 credits debt, +1D6 credits per turn 31+ credits debt), with aggressive enforcement (if debt reaches 55 credits, roll on enforcement table).  This was presumably why the ship ended up getting repossessed from the salvage crew, though James Bond's "encouragement" through his contacts will have sealed the enforcement action.

 

 

 Number 2 son was keen to get out my "sand houses" and "big robots", not for a game, just to play with.  Next day he wanted Mega Force out to play with too.  So, no actual games, just some pretty pictures of scenery and models!

First off, my ExoSquad RoboTech Destroids, plus lots of pullback toy tanks and some 1:72 toy soldiers.  They're on my desert terrain mat with 15mm adobe style buildings constructed from foamcore, with filler & masonry paint texturing. 

Next, we have Kenner Mega Force on my Lidl wargaming mat with Epic scale Space Marine buildings, plus a few 3D printed and some Heki model railway trees.

 It's a few years since I posted my painted Combat Droids printed from files by Dutchmogul.

 I repainted them because I wasn't happy - they were quite dark, and the difference between the green armour and the silver workings didn't look quite right.

 

 

 I have a piece of grey art board that I lay down as the basis for urban games.  It works well, as seen in some of my previous games, but I fancied something with defined roadways and other markings to add some extra character.

We had some internal doors replaced during building work a couple of years ago, and I cut up the old doors into square sections with the plan to build some modular terrain with them.  They're sturdy and rigid, but relatively light in weight.  I decided that one of these pieces would be the ideal thing to use.

 I started by sanding the painted surface down to give a good key for whatever I glue or paint onto it.  After a wipe with a damp cloth to remove and sanding dust and greasy fingerprints (hazard of having children), I sketched out the road design with a fine permanent marker.  I've stuck some felt pads on the underside to prevent it sliding around and ensure there is no risk of it scratching whatever table I put it on for gaming.

Outline planning.

 The design includes a central "island" with roads of 2 different widths around it.  Once I had decided on the initial road layout, I added on some parking areas.

Practice panels at bottom.

I wanted the design to have a low relief finish, which I created using cereal box cardboard.  I used Tesco Malt Wheat boxes, which I find to be a particularly smooth, dense card, ideal for model making.

Low relief cardboard panels.

Each area of ground is delineated by 3mm edging strips.  The interior is filled with a mixture of interlocking card shapes.  Rather than a basic grid, I've tried to make it more varied, with angled panels.  The outlines were glued in place first, then infilled.  I've used UHU glue which grips quickly, causes less warping than PVA would, and will hopefully last better.

Kerbs in place.

Infilling took a long time for the first 3 sections.  The first few pieces of card were quick, but it soon became time consuming to try and measure and cut the more intricate pieces.

Tools & materials.

Cutting was done using scissors and a craft knife, with a metal straight edge used to keep the lines straight.

Adding kerbs.

I decided on a faster method for the later sections of the board.  After carefuly trimming to the exact size, I worked out the panel design in pencil, then inked it in with felt-tip once I had finalised it.  The pen lines are about 1mm wide, so by cutting them away completely, it leaves suitable gaps between the panels.

Central "island" panel design.

One of the sections was partly completed, so it took a while to cut the insert to the correct shape.

Designing panels to fit in.

I drew in angled corners for several of the panels.  Some of the larger panels have smaller strips separated from them.

Ready to cut out.

I applied a base coat of grey washable wall paint that I got remaindered for £1 in B&Q.  I chose the washable sort because it should be harder wearing than normal emulsion paint, and an ink wash can be applied without soaking in too quickly or reactivating it.  I applied the paint with a scrap of sponge, which leaves a much smoother finish than a paintbrush and also uses less paint.

Painting the panels with sponge.

 Thinly applied, the paint dried in just a few minutes.  I mixed up a wash, a couple of drops of black ink and a generous squirt of thinned matt varnish, no exact proportions, just enough for a good stain.  Each section received a generous coating of the wash.  I immediately used a piece of kitchen roll to wipe away most of the ink, leaving the panels stained.  I painted a second coat of wash onto some panels to produce a little more variation in the shading.

Base colours completed.

I painted the edging kerbs with Vallejo Imperial Yellow Xpress paint.  Being semi-translucent, this lets the shading and staining show through from underneath, adding a weathered effect to the kerbs.

Road markings added.

 The roads have been painted with white masonry paint, tinted to a dark grey with some more of the black ink. [Edit: now that the board is finished, this hasn't proved to be as durable as I'd hoped.  I think it will scratch off fairly quickly.  I might try more sanding and perhaps sticking a layer of thick paper onto the road beds for a better base layer.  If anyone has a suggestion, please let me know in the comments!]

Panel detail.

Road markings were stencilled on using a piece of paper and a scrap of sponge. The white markings are masonry paint.  The yellow markings are a tester pot of old Wilko "Bumblebee" wall paint.  The centre of the road are 20mm long, 2mm wide slots cut in a piece of A4 paper, with a 10mm gap between each line.

Panel detail.

 

Parking area & panel detail.

 

Parking area.

  A few photographs with buildings (3D printed Flatline City) and figures (mainly GZG civilians, plus a few Alternative Armies and Checkpoint Miniatures):

The narrow road are designed so that the Flatline City bridges and platforms span the gap neatly.

Flatline City skybridge.

Flatline City walkway.

The thing that prompted me to get this finished was the prospect of a Five Parsecs battle taking place in a city - coming soon to a blog near you!